In order to realize global planarization of a semiconductor device having a multilayer wiring structure, a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process may be applied to a wafer. The CMP process is a process in which mechanical processing using an abrasive, which is present between a pressurized wafer and a polishing pad, and chemical etching using a compound such as slurry or the like are carried out at the same time.
When the CMP process is performed, substances removed from the surface of the water and slurry may accumulate on the surface of the polishing pad. In order to remove particles accumulated on the surface of the polishing pad and to maintain consistent polishing performance of the polishing pad, a dressing process is applied to the polishing pad via a polishing pad dressing apparatus.
While a dressing process using a dressing apparatus is performed after a CMP process, e.g. a final polishing process, fine particles may be adsorbed onto the surface of the wafer. Such fine particles adsorbed onto the surface of the wafer may cause local unevenness over the surface of the wafer.